Schechter Shavua: June 7, 2024

EC Students Embark on a Stellar Voyage

The children in Shorashim Bet (EC3-4)  showed tremendous interest in the solar system throughout the year, so teachers Bree Usher, Sarah Kruger, and Jessica Fingold decided to further explore it for their Reggio Emilia-inspired end of the year culminating project. Together as a class, they voyaged into space, using research to expand upon their extensive prior knowledge about the planets. After discussing each planet, they created planetary replicas using a variety of materials including foam, clay, cork, and foil. Other details such as craters and volcanoes were added with different paints, oil pastels, and glitter. By working together as a stellar team, their classroom space collaboration morphed into an amazing solar system, complete with the sun, orbiting planets, stars, moons, and a few black holes. 

Click HEREto view photos of Shorashim Bet’s Reggio-inspired Solar System
 

New Makerspace Provides Inspiration for Middle School MakerFaire

Seventh and eighth grade students from Amirim and Perahim took inspiration from Rube Goldberg, creating an elaborate series of cause-and-effect actions that guided a ball down ramps, through tubes, across blocks falling like dominoes. Through countless attempts, students learned from their mistakes, re-designed, tested again, and again, until their marble moved as they desired.

Some historycourtesy of the Norman Rockwell Museum: Rube Goldberg, born in 1883 to Jewish parents, was an early 20th century Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist. His cartoons made him the first Jewish-American comedy star, though he has become more famous for the inventions bearing his name than for his cartoons and political illustrations. Within his comic strips, Goldberg created extremely complex machines that were built to perform a simple task. The hand-drawn diagrams of his outlandish inventions established Rube Goldberg as one of the most popular cartoonists of the time, and the term “Rube Goldberg Machine” was coined. The idea behind Goldberg’s devices was so innovative that it has been adapted countless times in popular culture—in Tom and Jerry cartoons, the board game Mouse Trap, episodes of Sesame Street, and the films Back to the Future and The Goonies, to name just a few.

Parents gathered with baited breath at the MakerFaire to watch their results. Although the students’ marble didn’t quite travel as intended, it was inspirational to see how their imaginations and engineering practices guided the process.

Nevatim's (gr. 6-7) history class this semester spent time in the Medieval period, both in Europe and the now-Arab world. They learned about the creation of Islam, Arab colonization/Arabization, life for dhimmis in Arab countries (like Jews), the Islamic Golden Age and all of the wonderful inventions that came out of the period, and researched indigenous groups of MENA (the Middle East and North Africa). As part of their unit culmination, students created and ran their own souk (Arab word for "marketplace", related to the Hebrew shuk). Their focus was on using materials that would have conceivably been available during that time period, such as glass, metal, or leather. All of the $500 raised will support Israel.

Click HERE to see photos.

Ilanot Reflect on the Meaning of Prayer

Ilanot students (Kindergarten) have been on a year-long journey, learning what it means to pray and how to pray. They learned that they talk to God when they are scared or lonely, when they are happy, and when they are grateful. They learned that the prayers are ways to talk to God and those prayers connect us to Jews around the world. Students thought about the meaning of the prayers and wrote about their thoughts and drew pictures as part of their learning. 

As the culmination of this process, students received their first siddurim in a special ceremony last week. Surrounded by family, they prayed together, showing their gratitude to God for all they have. Before the children received their siddurim, their parents were invited in to help them decorate the covers to participate in the custom of hiddur mitzvah (beautifying the commandments). This gave each student’s siddur a beautifully personalized touch.

The BIG Game

This is the game that Schechter students look forward to for years! The 8th graders took on faculty in a neck-and-neck basketball game on Tuesday. It was a nailbiter game, fun for all! Special highlights included our fabulous emcees and halftime dancing on the court!

See photos of the exciting 8th grade vs. faculty basketball game HERE.